Prep School May 29, 2025
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Prep School Highlights
Prep School Highlights
Friday, May 30
Prep Generations Day
Middle division, 9–11 a.m
Primary division, 1–3 p.m.
👔 First Dress Years 5–7
👔 Regular dress SK–Year 4
Monday, June 2
Prep Prize Day, 8:30–9:30 a.m.
Year 5 Family Design Challenge
3:45–4:45 p.m.
Brenda and Reid Chen Innovation Lab
Wednesday, June 4
Year 7 Niagara trip until Friday
6C and 6H at Norval until Thursday
🕓 Student late start day
Thursday, June 5
6L and 6F at Norval until Friday
Friday, June 6
👕 UCC spirit dress day
THIS WEEK AT THE PREP
THIS WEEK AT THE PREP
Prep Leadership Team
Dear Prep Families,
A highlight this week is the outstanding arts performances we are enjoying from students across the Prep. Our Primary Spring Concert on Wednesday showcased our SK–Year 5 students’ talents in visual art, dance, ukulele, recorder and song and concluded with the hit SK–Year 3 musical “Social Skills.”
Our Year 6 and 7 concert is this evening, and the performances for Generations Day tomorrow will round out this week and serve to highlight our students’ creativity and the sheer joy they take in their learning.
At UCC, our faculty and staff are the most integral part of our ability to provide transformational learning experiences for your boys. Each year, we have Prep faculty and staff who are retiring or moving on to new adventures. We share these announcements so that our community has the opportunity to share their gratitude for all the ways that these individuals have impacted the lives of your boys.
David Bullock
Mr. Bullock will retire at the end of this academic year after being a member of the Prep faculty for 26 years. He began working at UCC in 1999 when he assisted with the Prep’s skating program. During his time as a PE teacher at the College, Mr. Bullock served as Head of the Physical Education Department; introduced lacrosse to the Year 6 curriculum; and was the Prep’s first SK PE teacher. Mr. Bullock’s passion for coaching is evident in the long list of teams he’s worked with: Year 5, 6, and 7 hockey; Year 7/8 lacrosse; U10, U11, and U12 soccer. He's served the Prep community in numerous capacities beyond the classroom, including Assistant Athletic Director, A-Day coordinator, Assembly facilitator, Remembrance Day producer, Ice Chips organizer and Prep Games Day manager.
Tom Sharpe
Mr. Sharpe will retire at the end of this academic year after almost 3 decades of service to UCC. He joined UCC in 1996 as a Form 6, 7 and 8 Science Teacher. As Head of Science from 1999-2007, he significantly shaped the Science Program; he played a lead role in planning, designing, and reimagining the Science Labs and the Holmes Project Lab when they were designed, and he has been a key implementer of our Signature Design Program. Beyond these roles, Mr. Sharpe coached U12 softball, basketball, and hockey, as well as U14 softball and hockey. Furthermore, his dedication to capturing memorable moments through sports videos has enriched our school community from 1998 to the present.
Jill Stewart
After 29 years of dedicated service to UCC, Ms. Stewart will be retiring at the end of this academic year. Ms. Stewart arrived at UCC in 1996 as a part-time French Monitrice. From there, she taught French and eventually Health and Life Skills for Year 3-7. She has had a number of roles at the Prep: she has been a form adviser, acted as Head of Primary for one year, created multiple Community Service initiatives, co-directed and acted in numerous musicals, taught drama during the pandemic and coached field hockey and ultimate frisbee.
Please join us in congratulating these well-deserved retirements!
We also want to send best wishes to the following faculty who are moving on to new adventures:
Victoria Altomare-Varlokostas: Victoria will be leaving UCC to take on an Athletic Director role at BSS next year. Since 2017, Victoria has taught different courses in over six different departments. In addition to her teaching, she has worked on the Prep’s yearbook and impacted the lives of many boys through her coaching. Most recently, she has been the Prep Athletic Director for four years, expanding our program to meet the needs and interests of our students.
Amy Yim: Amy has been the Prep Design Lab Facilitator, supporting all the machines and materials in the Hixon Design Lab this year.
Finally, Bob Cooper will also be on sabbatical for the 2025-26 school year.
We are ending the week smiling and with deep gratitude for this vibrant learning community of students, families and teachers.
Your partners in learning,
Sarah Fleming, Gareth Evans, David Girard
Year 5 update
Year 5 update
As the school year nears its end, we would like to share an update on the learning taking place in our classroom. Our commitment remains focused on fostering supportive communities that encourage academic growth, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of the world. Below is an overview of our current and upcoming units in mathematics, inquiry, and literacy.
We're currently wrapping up unit 7: Multiplication of Mixed Numbers, Graphs, and 2-D Geometry, and students will be completing a summative unit test this week. We're looking forward to our final unit on financial literacy. This upcoming unit will introduce students to important real-world concepts like budgets, taxes, different types of payments, credit, and debt — providing them with essential life skills.
Students have been deeply engaged in their narrative writing pieces, crafting a "Part 2" to our previous novel study, City of Ember. It’s been fantastic to see their creativity flourish, as many have used CoSpaces to bring their stories to life in an immersive way.
Our inquiry media unit is underway, with students diving into the fascinating world of advertisements, biases, slogans, logos and more. They've created their own products and will soon develop advertisements in the innovation lab to showcase all they've learned about the power and persuasion of media.
As we prepare for the end of the school year, students are reminded to bring reusable bags to help bring their desk and locker items home before the last day. We're all looking forward to Prep Games Day, and good luck to those competing in the Krafcheck Bolt!
Thank you for all your continued support this school year!
Year 5 Design update
Year 5 Design update
As we approach the end of the school year, our Year 5 designers are diving into their final project: passion projects! This unit is a chance for students to reflect on their growth and creativity by choosing a skill they want to enhance or something entirely new that they would like to explore.
Throughout the year, students have been designing with others in mind. Their most recent project, Teaching Others Games for Exhibition, showcased an incredible range of work, from coded informational games in VR to hands-on experiences like air hockey, basketball, Plinko, and a robot maze (just to name a few!). It’s been amazing to see their problem-solving, creativity, and empathy shine.
Students are now shifting gears to design something just for themselves. Whether it’s building on skills like coding, making, or video editing, or exploring something new like crocheting, photography, Tinkercad, or Cricut t-shirt design, this final project is a celebration of their dedication and hard work in design class.
A quick reminder that our Year 5 Family Design Challenge will take place on Monday, June 2, from 3:45 – 4:45 p.m. in the Brenda & Reid Chen Innovation Lab. Thank you to those who have signed up! We look forward to offering more opportunities in the future. Stay tuned!
Innovation & Technology Coach | Design Teacher
Spring at Norval —the most inspiring of the seasons
Spring at Norval —the most inspiring of the seasons
Spring signifies coming out of the darkness. We’ve tipped the balance from longer nights to longer days. At Norval, the season is full of hope and excitement. It starts when it's above zero degrees in the day, but still negative temperature at night. That is when the sap in the sugar bush starts to flow, and when the Year 5 students travel to Norval to help make maple syrup. There's no more delicious sign of spring, and the joy of having pancakes with warm, fresh maple syrup in the sugar bush is unmatched. We were very lucky that every Year 5 class got to experience this time-honoured spring tradition this year.
As the snow continues to melt, the spring bird migration starts to take flight, and the Year 1 students travel to Norval to make different structures. This includes making a giant bird nest.
With the snow completely melted away, it's time to get out and play and the spring bike trip is on the way. The Year 4s participated in one of the most popular Norval trips, the bike trip! For the first time ever, the Year 4 students biked all day. Students biked 20 km on the Caledon Trailway, travelling from Palgrave to Inglewood. We're looking forward to June 2, when the students will travel to the Brampton Flight Centre to fly in a small Cessna airplane over Norval. It is a highlight of the Norval year for sure!
As spring takes hold, it's time for the Year 3s to be bold. The Year 3s travelled to Norval for their first overnight Norval trip. Students have been preparing for this all year. Having sleepovers at relatives' houses, moving up to sleeping over at friends' houses and finally, the day was here. The Year 3s did great, sleeping over for the first time on the bunk beds in Stephen House. They also released baby salmon into the Credit River and sent their paddle to the sea boats downriver, hoping their boat would be the first to make it to the ocean.
The SKs met a tree and a bee in the Great Garden Adventure. The Year 2s explored the creek bed to find many amazing creatures that have adapted to their environment. This is where learning happens naturally.
The sun rises high, and the earth starts to fry, and it is time for the Year 1s to try and stay dry. The Year 1s travel to Norval and celebrate the joys of water with watermelon hats, cool nature bandanas, and sprinkler fun.
As the spring wild flowers start to grow, to the Bruce the Year 6s must go. We're looking forward to the Year 6s participating in the Norval hiking trip, travelling between 15 to 20 km on the Bruce Trail. The next day, the Prep Science department travels to Norval to facilitate an aquatic biodiversity study and invasive species pull. As spring starts to fade away and summer comes out to play, we reflect on a year that the students say, we wish we had Norval every day!
UCC Norval Outdoor School Director
Save the date | Prep Prize Day
Save the date | Prep Prize Day
This year’s annual Prep Prize Day, a ceremony for students in Years 6 and 7, will be held on Monday, June 2, in Weston Hall at 8:30 a.m. If your child will be receiving a prize, you have been contacted with an invitation.
Prizes awarded recognize student citizenship, academic achievement in a variety of subject areas, and involvement in cocurricular activities.
Prize winners are determined by faculty participating in departmental discussions and reviewing relevant student data.
Year 7 | End of year Niagara trip
Year 7 | End of year Niagara trip
We're excited to offer a year-end trip for our Year 7 students to the Niagara Region. The trip will be from June 4–6. Please review this FAQ document about the trip, including a suggested packing list. In addition, please be sure to complete the two online waivers for your son (Jet Boat Tours and Wildplay High Ropes) that were sent to you via email on Monday, May 26. The links to the two waivers are also available in the FAQ document.
Sincerely,
Gareth Evans
End of year classroom parties
End of year classroom parties
As the school year draws to a close, we’re excited to celebrate the students’ hard work and achievements with end-of-year classroom parties. We want to share some important guidelines for these events to ensure a fun and consistent experience for everyone.
Like last year, classroom parties will take place on Tuesday, June 10, during lunch and lunch recess. To streamline the process and ensure reasonable equity across classrooms, the Prep Parent Organization (PPO) will be organizing pizza for each class. Class reps have some additional funds to provide either a special nut-free treat to compliment the pizza or distribute a party favour/gift. Please connect with the home form adviser to arrange this.
Our PPO class reps will be visiting each classroom party to assist with the distribution of food. Form advisers will also be present at the parties and have the option to play a video or music to enhance the festive atmosphere.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in making these end-of-year celebrations a positive and memorable experience for all our students.
Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops
Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops
Jump Rope for Heart and Hoops will take place at the Prep from Wednesday, June 4 to Friday June 6! In partnership with the Heart & Stroke Foundation, the community service leaders and the PE department are excited to launch this event for the second year in a row.
SK to Year 6 students are asked to make a donation to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. UCC's goal is to have 100% participation, with $2-$10 donations suggested.
HOW TO DONATE:
1) If you would like a tax receipt, families must donate online here, then click on Donate to the School.
2) If you are not interested in a tax receipt, please send cash or coins to be collected by the home form teacher.
For this event, our school community will raise funds and awareness for the Heart & Stroke Foundation, be active, learn about healthy lifestyle choices, and have fun! Students will participate during their scheduled PE / Games period. Students should wear their regular PE clothing and be prepared to be outdoors (hat, sunscreen, water bottle).
Please see the detailed schedule below for when your child will be participating:
6L and 6F will participate in Hoops for Heart on Wednesday, June 4, during their PE period.
Y5 will participate in Hoops for Heart on Thursday, June 5, during their Games period.
6C and 6T will participate in Hoops for Heart on Friday, June 6, during their Games period.
Years 3 and 4 will participate in Jump Rope for Heart on Friday, June 6, during their PE period.
SK and Years 1 and 2 will participate in Jump Rope for Heart on Friday, June 6, during their PE period.
Year 7 students will not be participating as they will be on their Niagara graduation trip.
Thank you for supporting our participation in Jump Rope for Heart!
Riley Carter and the Community Service Leaders
Prep Lost and found parade
Prep Lost and found parade
Is your son missing clothes, water bottles, or shoes? Now is the time to reclaim those missing items!
All Prep lost and found items will be on display from Monday, June 2 to Friday, June 6, in the Bitove Lounge.
Parents are encouraged to drop by during school hours and take a look to see if anything is yours. Note that any remaining items after 4 p.m. on Friday, June 6 will be donated to the used uniform collection or to charity.
If you have any questions, please contact president@uccprepparents.ca.
PPO fundraiser | Clothing labels
PPO fundraiser | Clothing labels
Summer is coming up which means it's time to start labeling your kids’ things for camp! If you're looking for labels, please support our PPO fundraiser here.
Search for Upper Canada College Prep Parents Organization, and a portion of the sale goes back to the PPO.
Thanks and happy labelling!
Help build UCC's seed library
Help build UCC's seed library
Remember that lush garden full of plants that you saw on TV and just wanted to jump into? Well, soon you’ll be able to with the help of "Wilder Seeds" at UCC!
We're creating a seed library in the Prep Wilder Library, and we need your help! Tomorrow, on Prep Generations Day, we're asking you to bring in local seeds to donate to our collection. If you find yourself shopping and you see a display of seed packets, consider buying some to help our garden and library grow. We'll accept all kinds of plant seeds from flowers and herbs to vegetables. Donations will be accepted at any time throughout the school year.
Just imagine walking into school and going through a garden full of the most beautiful flowers and how wonderful it will smell!
Thank you for your support,
Ibrahim Chaudhry
Year 7B
Year 7 | Food drive for The Stop Community Food Centre
Year 7 | Food drive for The Stop Community Food Centre
During project week, a few Year 7 students had the opportunity to visit Wychwood Green Barn. It was a great experience, where they learned to help the environment by planting seeds, cleaning pots, and doing many other great things. The Stop Community Food Centre at Wychwood Green Barn increases access to food for those in need. Now, those welcoming people we met at Wychwood Green Barn have asked our UCC community to make donations to help them make this world a better place. Please see below for items that can be donated towards their cause.
This is a Year 7 only drive, taking place from Monday, May 26 to Friday, May 30. Donations can be placed in a
labelled box in Bitove Lounge.
Donation list:
Canned goods
Fruits, vegetables, vegetable juices, and 100% fruit juices
Pasta sauce
Tuna, salmon, and chicken
Beans, legumes, low-sodium broth, and soups
Shelf-stable unsweetened milk alternatives (rice, soy, almond, coconut, etc.)
Dried beans, legumes, and nuts
Brown or wild rice, whole grain pasta, cereals, tortillas, old-fashioned oats
Low-sugar oatmeal, whole grain crackers, granola bars, and gluten-free options
Cooking oils, dried spices and herbs, and baking ingredients
Sugar-free applesauce and dried fruit
Dish soap and laundry detergent
Baby food, diapers, baby wipes, and infant formula
Personal hygiene items
Soap, shampoo, and conditioner
Menstrual products, including tampons, pads, and menstrual cups
Toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss
Deodorant
Disposable razors
Thank you for your support of The Stop Community For Centre at Wychwood Green Barn.
Jayden Shi, Year 7
Prep uniform purchasing
Prep uniform purchasing
DGN-Kilters will be conveniently stationed on campus with their mobile sales van, located just outside the William P. Wilder ’40 Arena & Sports Complex on Tuesday, June 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Prep families can easily purchase uniforms and colour house clothing, and facilitate exchanges or returns. This is a great opportunity to beat the back-to-school rush and take care of your uniform needs before summer break.
Blues Shop Manager
Year 6 and 7 | Laptop return and exchange
Year 6 and 7 | Laptop return and exchange
Students who are not returning to UCC in September will need to drop off their laptop and power supply at the Prep School Help Desk on June 11.
On Tuesday, June 10, students who are returning next year will return their current laptops and receive a new MacBook Air. Both the current laptop and its Apple power supply must be returned in excellent condition, as these will be returned to the leasing company. Please ensure your child remembers to bring their power supply with them on Tuesday, June 10. Students may be charged for any missing power supplies.
We would like to remind you that AppleCare+ ends on June 10. We are asking that parents/guardians look at the student's laptop, and if there is any visible damage, please have the device brought to the Prep School Help Desk as soon as possible.
Ms. Barclay has already met with each Year 6 and 7 class to thoroughly explain the exchange process and guide students in preparing their devices. During these sessions, students have been organizing their local files and utilizing Google Drive to back up all content from their desktop and documents folders.
To further support this transition, students will soon have access to comprehensive support materials on the Laptop Exchange 2025 Brightspace course. This resource will include step-by-step instructions on how to back up their content and provide access to the mandatory acceptable use video.
All students are required to watch a short video in Brightspace that reiterates key aspects of our acceptable use policy. They must agree to the terms outlined in the video before they can receive their new laptop. If your child does not complete this video by June 10th, they will not be able to receive their new device on the exchange day.
Year 6 and 7 students will continue to use the black “always-on” laptop bags they have been using throughout this year. Year 7 students may continue to use the black case or choose to carry their laptops in their backpacks once they transition to the Upper School in September.
All Year 6 and 7 students will be taking their laptops home over the summer and are expected to bring them to school in excellent condition in September. They continue to have restricted administrative rights on their laptops and will only be able to install approved software through the school's software manager.
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the upcoming laptop exchange, please do not hesitate to contact Ryan Archer.
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